The following article was selected from the Internet Edition of the Chicago Tribune. To visit the site, point your browser to http://chicagotribune.com/. ----------- Chicago Tribune Article Forwarding---------------- Article forwarded by: Cayata Dixon Return e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Article URL: http://chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/article/0,2669,SAV-0106060145,FF.html ---Forwarded article---------------- Teachers voted to regain respect By Deborah Lynch-Walsh. Deborah Lynch-Walsh is the president-elect of the Chicago Teachers Union. The recent Chicago Teachers Union election provided Chicago public school teachers with an opportunity to send a message that change is needed among their leadership. While there have been some positive results over the past few years in reforming and improving schools--new funds for capital development, for example--the recent majority vote by teachers to be represented by candidates of the CTU's ProActive Chicago Teachers & School Employees (PACT) caucus is a true mandate for increased teacher respect, and the involvement of professional teachers in the decision-making process to improve our schools. Why is respect an issue? For one thing, nothing has been done to fight the erroneous perception that teachers are the problem in the failure of students to achieve greater academic success. One proposed solution to the problem of low reading scores--scripted classroom interaction, a "reform" that is designed to teacher-proof classroom instruction--is an example of school reform being done to teachers instead of with teachers. Experts agree the most successful reform models are implemented by teachers who take ownership of the reform because it fits their school's circumstances. Teachers should be regarded as professionals who understand their job and, when given the proper recognition and resources, can do it right. The fallout from the numerous "flavor of the week" reforms that have been forced on teachers--including reconstitution, remediation, intervention, re-engineering and probation--is that good teachers are leaving Chicago's schools and new teachers are choosing to teach in suburban schools. As professionals in their field, teachers must have a greater voice in the changes that take place in their classrooms. After more than a decade of school reform efforts, we see that some tactics have worked very well, others not at all. It is now time to move away from experiments in reform that have provided few positive results, and toward those efforts that have been proven to be effective. Among the most important issues at hand as we chart a course for the next phase of reform are the following: - Class size. Too many students, especially in the early elementary grades and in impoverished neighborhood schools, are being taught in overcrowded conditions. A teacher facing a classroom of 35 students, many of whom arrive at school without basic learning skills or even a decent breakfast, simply cannot meet the academic needs of every student. More funding is needed now to build more classrooms and hire more teachers, especially in the lowest elementary grades and in the poorest neighborhoods. All of the research points to the fact that teachers are more effective teaching to classes of 20-25 students. The biggest beneficiaries of smaller class sizes are impoverished children, who comprise 85 percent of Chicago's public school students. - Good teachers. Teacher quality is the best predictor of student achievement. Research shows the importance of having a qualified teacher for every student in the system. Students clearly learn more when they are taught consistently by well-trained teachers. Conversely, student performance suffers when forced to adjust to frequent teacher vacancies and substitute teachers. In many cases, teachers in the lowest-performing schools are not certified to teach the grade level or subject they have been hired to teach. Also, many current teacher training and professional development programs are developed without any input from teachers and are unrelated to their school's curriculum. The school board must make a firm commitment to invest in the most educated, dedicated teacher force Chicago has ever seen. - Standardized tests. The policy of evaluating students based solely on standardized test scores continues to muddle all of the issues involved. There are too many tests, and consequently too much classroom time spent on test preparation. Even the test's designers do not recommend that they be used as the only determining factor in a student's promotion or retention. Based on their professional training, experience and expertise, Chicago's teachers are fully qualified to assess student achievement. The union will continue to push the Chicago Board of Education to reconsider its current policy so that teacher recommendation, based on a student's grades, effort, performance, test scores and attendance, will determine promotion and retention. - Working conditions. Smaller classes, increased respect and meaningful, coordinated training programs will go a long way in helping to attract and keep good teachers who might otherwise consider careers in suburban schools. The fact remains, however, that Chicago schools are unable to compete for the best teachers because of depressed salary levels. Chicago's high school teachers earn the lowest salaries in Cook, DuPage or Lake Counties, and elementary school teachers rank 33rd in that region. More money for teacher salaries must be viewed as an investment in quality that ultimately benefits all of society, producing students who can get well-paid jobs as young adults, and are thus less likely to engage in crime, teenage parenting and other anti-social behaviors. The era of a laissez-faire Chicago Teachers Union that doesn't respond vigorously to policies that have an adverse effect on its membership is ending. The board of education should listen closely to its teachers and their ideas, and provide the resources and respect we need to do the best job we know how for all of Chicago's public school students. ---------------------------------------------------- This is the CPS Mathematics Teacher Discussion List. 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